Crusaders horseman, LOTR rider and now Association President

MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday 2 April 2013

For immediate release

Crusaders horseman, LOTR rider and now Association President…

While newly elected Canterbury Agricultural & Pastoral Association President Mark Fleming has had a long family involvement with the Association, his more celebrated pursuits include an 18 year stint as a Crusaders horseman and performing close riding and fighting scenes in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

“My involvement with polo over the years has led to some pretty interesting past-times but my true passion lies with showing and the family farm which was founded by my grandfather and father in 1957. They purchased the studs founding cattle from Sir Heaton Rhodes’ property at Otahuna. We still have some of the original cattle lines in the stud today” commented Fleming.

The family farm is Willowlea Stud in Irwell, predominately a Red Poll and Angus Stud also involved with dairy through growing silage and providing grazing. Mark has attended the Canterbury A&P Show since his youth, showing cattle with his family, both locally and throughout New Zealand including Royal Shows in Waikato, Invercargill and Fielding.

Mark joined the Canterbury A&P Association General Committee in 1998; he was Chairman of the Cattle Committee for five years. Mark is also Chairman of Beef Breeds for the Royal Agricultural Society of NZ (RAS) and a RAS Central Districts Councillor. A qualified Beef Breeds Judge, Mark has judged throughout New Zealand and has also judged cattle at the Royal Adelaide Show in Australia.

As well as being one of the youngest Presidents to hold the position, Mark’s vision for the future of the Canterbury A&P Show lies in retaining the link between city and country and introducing new events to grow the Show while encouraging younger audiences to participate in A&P Shows through volunteering and showing.

“We’ve got a great Committee, Board and management, the structure is in place to really grow our Show in the future. There are a lot of people who are passionate about the Canterbury A&P Association and Show. The Show’s developed into the largest agricultural event in the country. If you take where we are now and continue to diversify and embrace new technologies to develop the event, then the Association can’t help but roll forward” added Fleming.

Mark was welcomed as the incoming President at the Association’s Annual General Meeting held in March. Also announced were Richard Parkes as Senior Vice President and Nicky Hutchinson as Junior Vice President. In 2015 Nicky will become the first female President in the Association’s 150+ year history.

The 2013 Canterbury A&P Show will be held Wednesday 13 to Friday 15 November at Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch. It is the largest A&P Show in the country attracting 100,000+ people, close to 7000 livestock and feature competition entries and 600 trade exhibitors.

-ENDS-

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